Kerry Wood Will Return to the Chicago Cubs

By Living Baseball

Theo Epstein has gone on the record and said how he wants right handed icon pitcher Kerry Wood back with the Cubs in 2012. That basically means Kerry Wood is a done deal as he said he would rather retire than play with another organization. This is a huge deal for many reasons.

1) Kerry Wood is still a very good reliever. He’s extremely valuable in the back end and barring other moves, I could see Theo Epstein signing Wood and trading Carlos Marmol.
2) Kerry Wood is the Chicago Cubs. He’s been the face of the organization since 1998, when he emerged to the big leagues and threw a 20 strike out game as a baby faced teenager. He’s been a fan favorite, and rightfully so. He’s been my favorite player for a long time. Seeing as we share surgeries and surgeons in common, him coming back after all he’s faced is incredible. The fact he can still rush it up to 96? Is remarkable. This is just a great marketing move.
3) Kerry Wood is a class act. I’ve been able to meet Kerry multiple times, converse with him multiple times and this is just a good human being. He’s a guy that could and will mentor all the young talent coming up through the system, and that’s as valuable as anything. You want as many Kerry Woods’ as possible in as many clubhouses as possible and the Cubs are very lucky to have him.